


The Tales the Sailors Told

by RubyBluestockings



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Genre: Poetry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-04
Updated: 2011-12-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 20:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/287691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyBluestockings/pseuds/RubyBluestockings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first of what was originally going to be a three to four part "epic" poem about Elizabeth's fascination with pirates.  Pre-CotBP.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tales the Sailors Told

It harkened back to the tales the sailors told  
Aboard her father's ship - in subdued tones,  
They spoke of cursed gold and sunbleached bones,  
And souls exchanged like pardons, bought and sold.

With windswept hair and sea-spray on her face,  
She closed her eyes - how easy to believe  
The sordid sort of tales those men would weave -  
How real those stories seemed in such a place.

Disapproving, her father would inquire  
If it were wise to tell her such tall tales -  
But, stronger than she looked, she did not quail -  
Such worries only served to fuel her fire.

And then one day, like fate or prophecy,  
Those sails appeared, exactly as they'd said;  
And in their wake, they left a trail of dead,  
And a merchant ship that burned in effigy.

For years to come, she'd dream about that day -  
The calmness of the sea, the sunless sky,  
The boy they salvaged from the wreck - how still he lie,  
How cold his hands and face; how ashen grey.

And how, around his neck, a flaxen chain  
Shone bright against the pallor of his skin;  
It'd be better than the brand, to do him in!  
For pirate's blood ran, surely, through his veins.

From that moment forth, she swore an oath  
That she would care for him in coming days  
And forever keep his secret, come what may -  
If they wanted him, they'd have to take them both.


End file.
